It’s almost that time of year again, when the hordes of music makers, scenesters, wannabes, never-were’s, and assorted fans descend upon that jewel in Texas’s crown, Austin. I speak, of course, of South By Southwest. As if I could be speaking of anything else.

This year will be the first that Last Night’s Mixtape has a formal presence for the big to-do, and we’re going to be previewing a bunch of the groups that various LxNxM mafiosi will be catching. But before we wade neck deep into the global ecosystem of sounds that will infest Austin, I want to take a short jaunt to the south west, and get into some of the sounds coming out of a – very frankly – surprising location: San Antonio.

If you followed the rise of cumbia as a dancefloor-wrecking sound, you probably stumbled across San Antonio’s DJ/producer/party-thrower Sonora at some point. Unlike some remixers, Sonora’s revisitations of everything from Usher to LxNxM favorites Los Rakas aren’t simply throwing a beat over the same song. If Guinness adds life, as they say, then Sonora adds flavor.

Los Rakas ft Favi – Abrazame (sonora remix) by SONORA

Going in a whole different direction, The Empireal Formula is a producer and DJ whose work goes back towards minimalism and understated tweaks. It’s an interesting contrast to the high-bombast production work that can be seen as a rework, and it shines through in his original work as well (not that remixes aren’t original, but hell, we live in a binary world, amirite?).

Limit To Your Love (The Empireal Formula Remix) by The Empireal Formula

And last but not least on this tip-of-the-iceberg/grill tour of San Antone, behold the man with the best name in… ever? That would, of course, be Mexicans With Guns. What can be said about this man that cannot be said about the many other djs who rock luchador masks 24/7? Wait – did you say that there are no other djs who keep their identity a closely guarded secret and change clothes in phone booths wear a wrestling mask at all times? Let’s just say that when your peers are Deadmau5, Toadally Krossed Out, and Frikstailers, you’re doing something right. Evidently the Red Bull Music Academy agrees, and put on Mr. With Guns for an exclusive podcast.

You can get the full range of Lone Star electronical tastes – with healthy representation from San Anto – from the subtly titled compilation Texas. Curated by San Antonio label Exponential Records, Texas brings together fourteen producers from a variety of different electronic styles. You can catch tracks from some of the folks listed here, as well as a variety of others, and it’s an interesting slice into a scene that doesn’t yet have a Texas-sized footprint outside of Texas.

Sarcasm and parody raps are rarely done smartly. Weird Al Yankovic and Kool Keith could pull it off, but most rappers appear to be trying way too hard and the pun falls flat. Here’s a video that doesn’t make a drop of sense from Texas rapper Fat Tony that features comical lyricism and lot’s of, well, food. Any music vid that starts out at a grocery store automatically reminds me of Jane’s Addiction’s “Been Caught Stealing” but this video is even more weird. Believe it. Anybody that is going to SXSW this year should check out Fat Tony and his website to get the haps on his shows in Austin. Considering he’s playing gigs with friends of LxNxM such as Invincible and Das Racist, the guys is definitely alright in our book.

Que pasa?  here is another choice mix from the homie Dj Chorizo Funk, posted up a few days back – an “all vinyl” mix recorded live at Body Rock in Austin, Tejas.  For our seattle based folk- Chorizo will be en la cocina tonight at the dj100proof / DJ Sean Cee / DJ Darwin Birthday Bash! @ Nectar, FREE SHOW! Buen provecho.

Although a brother is currently tryin on a vegetarian steez, as a joven I could put a hurtin on some Chorizo. Why? Chorizo, like hip hop – is all about the ill spice and flavor, and putting the throw-away parts together with some essence. Word to my abuela. My lady, a pura East-Austin Chicana, a has been tryin to put me onto Dj Chorizo Funk for a minute. I’ll be jumpin a plane in about 3 hours to the ATX so I figured I would leave y’all with this parting gift.

A friend of the noted Table Manners Crew, Dj Chorizo has put together a recipe capturing some wholesome indie-hop selections from 2009. This mezcla is simply solid. I am definitely feelin the nacho- libre esque Dj Chooorrriiiizzzzzo drops in between mixes. Enjoy people, I’ll see what other treats I can sniff out in Austin for y’all….

“p.s. bump this in a system with some knock! all these damn ear buds nowadayz smh…Yall are missing out on the knock” – Dj Chorizo

tracklist after the jump Read the rest of this entry »